Chapter 138
“‘Return to the mansion and fulfill your duties and responsibilities, Lukaus Custoria.’ That is what Master has ordered.”
As I listened to Paigon’s words, I strapped my equipnt onto my body.
“How much did Father anticipate?” I asked.
Paigon lifted the corners of his wrinkled lips and smiled faintly.
“Well, I wouldn’t know.”
Being older, Paigon was that much more seasoned. It was hard to win against him in a battle of words.
“Is there a way to return to the main estate? Even air vehicles aren’t operational.”
“It’s not impossible to travel by land. There’s simply no connected road, but it’s not an island.”
I put on my coat. Graken Vuth was not in its place.
‘Iskan must have taken Graken Vuth.’
Still, Crucis was strapped to my waist. Having a weapon gave a sense of stability.
“What if I refuse to return to the mansion?”
Paigon lifted his head to look at . His cybernetic eyes had been replaced with a straight-lined goggle. Because of that, I couldn’t read his emotions through his pupils or gaze.
“Master was displeased with your reckless actions. You appeared in places you should not have. For now, you must trust Master and wait.”
I closed my eyes for a mont before opening them again, fixing my gaze on Paigon.
‘......These days, I see many noble children who believe the world will turn in their favor. A baseless, optimistic belief.’
I recalled sothing Paigon had once said while praising .
“The world is hardly so generous to ... that problems will resolve themselves just by waiting.”
I gripped the hilt of my sword with my right hand. Paigon’s tone took on a sharp edge.
“Are you saying you will disobey Master’s orders twice? Do you truly not trust your father?”
......Now I understand what everyone’s mistake was.
“Father has hidden many things from . I don’t bla him. I did the sa. And because of that, ‘Hemillas’ and I ca to distrust each other.”
That was the mistake Noel, Hemillas, and I had made.
I told Giselle everything. It didn’t matter whether a lie was ant with good or bad intentions. Who would trust the words of soone who refuses to speak the truth?
If you desire trust, you must tell the truth.
Noel never told Agatha and Katrin the truth, and because of that, he never gained their trust. That led to everyone’s downfall—Agatha never found true happiness until the day she died, and Katrin hated Noel until her very last mont.
Hemillas and I never spoke the truth to each other, which is why we could never fully trust one another. If even one of us had been honest, things wouldn’t have spiraled out of control like this. There was undoubtedly a bond between us, but there was no trust.
‘To protect myself and ensure my safety, I must hide my weaknesses. Always keeping secrets is advantageous for survival.’
That was true—if survival was my only goal.
But right now, my goal wasn’t just survival. I had multiple problems in front of that needed to be resolved. Since my objectives had changed, it was only natural that my strategy should be adjusted as well. If I wanted to create allies who would help , I needed to reveal my weaknesses and share my secrets.
Of course, exposing weaknesses and whispering secrets was dangerous. But nothing in this world ca without a price.
‘Co to think of it, the reason Ilay and I grew distant was because we started keeping secrets from each other. No, to be precise, it was when I started hiding many secrets of my own.’
Back when I was a cadet and knew nothing, Ilay and I shared everything. We even knew the smallest details about each other.
Ilay had even confessed his most dangerous weakness—his ‘subversive ideology’—to . He had done so because he believed I would never betray his trust.
And in return for Ilay’s faith in , I joined him in the perilous plan to rescue Lilian Lamones. If I had discovered his subversive ideology on my own, too late... feeling betrayed, I never would have helped him.
‘At so point, I stopped being honest, and in turn, Ilay stopped opening up to .’
And little by little, a wall ford between us.
‘On the other hand... Gabriel and I beca closer the more we learned about each other.’
Every ti one of my secrets was revealed, Gabriel and I grew even closer. Now, Gabriel was willing to risk his life for .
Tzzzzzt.
A pleasant white noise filled my ears. Knowledge and realization stirred my brain. The tangled threads of my thoughts began to unravel, one by one.
“...Lady Giselle, please co this way.”
Paigon muttered. His hand was inside his coat. I had no idea what kind of weapon would erge from there.
Grip.
Giselle grasped the hem of my clothes and shook her head. Paigon’s goggle-like cybernetic eyes glowed red.
Bzzzzzzt.
I noticed the output from Paigon’s cybernetic body increasing and issued a warning.
“You’d best not. Combat isn’t your specialty, is it? Take us to my father.”
Paigon was quick-witted. And he was the one person Hemillas truly trusted. Whenever Hemillas had a critical, classified mission, he called for Paigon before even his own family.
“Young Master, then allow to pose a question. If you answer correctly, I will obediently follow your orders.”
I motioned with my chin, waiting for his next words.
“Do you know what Master’s next plan is?”
Paigon awaited my response. My lips twitched slightly.
With my nervous system chemically enhanced, my thought process was far faster than that of an ordinary person. Paigon wouldn’t have asked such an obvious question if he only expected a predictable answer.
‘Noel’s misjudgnt led to Agatha’s mistake.’
Agatha had waited for Noel’s reincarnation. Because of her misguided obsession, she failed to see what truly mattered. She never even realized that another Noel was already under her care.
‘The one closest to Noel isn’t ... it’s Hemillas.’
Hemillas possessed keen insight and never ran from responsibility or duty. Though he wasn’t born in the lowest ranks of society, he was a second son who fought his way to the position of family head. He had continuously risen through the ranks of the military, and his accumulated network and experience were at least as extensive as Noel’s, if not greater.
...And Hemillas was capable of self-sacrifice. He didn’t just throw his subordinates and family into the fire—he used himself as bait for the sake of his house and the empire, even as the family head and Commander of the Imperial Guard.
‘The best option is long gone. Now, he has to choose between the lesser evil and the worst outco.’
At its core, Hemillas was in the exact sa situation as Noel. And if that was the case, then he had only one course of action.
The coup wasn’t his true goal!
‘He intends to embrace all the flas and be consud in the explosion.’
I could see Hemillas making the sa choice as Noel. He would kill all the military generals who conspired in the rebellion. He would sever Ivan Accretia’s head. A tribute to the emperor.
And then, he would take his own life.
The emperor would recognize the aning behind Hemillas’ sacrifice. Just as Agatha had remained as the founding ancestor of a powerful noble house due to Noel’s sacrifice, the Custoria family would survive because of Hemillas’.
It was the only way to fulfill both his responsibility as the family head and his duty as Commander of the Imperial Guard.
‘Agatha, you should have told Hemillas everything. You should have shown him. The one who needed to see Noel’s failures and find a different answer wasn’t —it was Hemillas.’
I bit down on my lower lip hard enough to draw blood. It was all so tragic. It wasn’t who should have seen Noel’s mories. It should have been Hemillas.
“His choice... is sacrifice.”
Paigon let out a sigh. Whether it was relief or resignation, I couldn’t tell. Slowly, he moved his lips.
“You are correct, Young Master.”
His arm twitched. I didn’t hesitate.
Bang!
I imdiately drew my standard-issue pistol and shot him in the crown of his head. His head jerked back montarily, but he didn’t die.
“So, I... I c-can’t... let you... go.”
I started to draw Crucis but froze.
Click.
Paigon pressed sothing inside his coat. His skin and body began to glow as if splitting apart. The artificial skin lted under the intense heat, and his clothes caught fire.
‘Self-destruction.’
The explosion was about to happen.
...You were loyal, Paigon.
I could see just how deep the bond between Hemillas and Paigon was. Even in death, Paigon was honoring his master’s will, using his life to stop .
Whoosh!
I yanked Giselle by the nape and wrapped my arms around her. She hadn’t fully grasped what was happening.
I wanted to get out of the blast radius, but that wasn’t going to be easy. No, it was impossible.
Screeeech!
I scraped against the floor as I turned a corner. Then, curling my body around Giselle, I braced myself. Even if I died, I hoped she would survive.
“Lu...”
Giselle’s voice was swallowed by the explosion.
Kuaaaaang!
Flas erupted from the blast, engulfing the hallway and rushing around the corner. A serpent of fire ca crashing down on us.
* * *
My mind, which had sunk deep into unconsciousness, barely grasped a sliver of light.
“...Please, don’t die, Luka. Don’t leave behind.”
A voice. I had no strength to respond.
“You’re strong... You always acted like you’d never die, no matter what...”
Soone was dragging . My body scraped against the floor. I didn’t even know who was speaking to .
My thoughts were in utter disarray. My condition was so severe that even my cognitive abilities were impaired.
I must have been gravely injured. But I felt no pain. That... was an even worse sign. Not feeling pain despite severe wounds ant sothing was seriously wrong.
My na is Luka.
I spoke to myself.
Focus. If your brain isn’t destroyed, then gather your consciousness.
With great effort, I sharpened my awareness, focusing it like a spear. I repeatedly stabbed through the veil of reality, forcing my mind to break through.
If you’re going to collapse here, then what the hell was all that suffering for, you idiot?
He even cursed at himself. The veil of reality did not break easily. Still, there was a faint effect—my external senses opened up slightly.
Kuung, kung. Tzzzzzt.
I heard sothing besides the voice. It was the sound of my body being dragged along the ground. And I could faintly feel the damp rain and wind.
“I won’t let you die here.”
Giselle—her voice rang out clearly. She kept calling my na. Thanks to that, my consciousness drew slightly closer to reality.
I wanted to make sense of the situation. But with my impaired cognitive function, that was impossible.
Right now, I didn’t even know why I was injured... or why Giselle was dragging . I only had a raw, instinctive sense that we were in danger.
Where were we? Giselle had been dragging for quite so ti.
“W-Who are you?”
It seed Giselle had encountered soone.
“The future I wanted to avoid... has beco reality.”
Sothing felt wrong. Please, move. Move, damn it.
“M-Mr. Iskan, please. Luka needs treatnt...”
Iskan. Who was Iskan?
“I’m sorry, Giselle. You may not understand, but I can’t let Luka live. It’s the commander’s order. I like the kid too, but before that, Hemillas cos first. If you two show up after an explosion like that... well, forget it. Explaining won’t change anything now.”
The one called Iskan was approaching.
“If you intend to kill Luka, you’ll have to go through first.”
“Getting past you would be easier than breaking a child’s wrist. You’re smart, aren’t you? You know you can’t stop —”
“No. I an that if you take even one more step forward, I will take my own life.”
This was dangerous. Giselle wasn’t bluffing.
I tried to open my eyes. But countless safety chanisms blocked my consciousness from fully reaching reality.
When the body sustains fatal injuries, the brain shuts down unnecessary functions to prioritize survival. I had lost a lot of blood, and there wasn’t much energy left to send to my brain. My body, in its state of ergency, wouldn’t allow to expend energy on thinking.
My brain and body had conspired to sink my consciousness deep below the surface. They had suffered enough because of —maybe they had decided to go on strike.
If I don’t wake up here, I’m going to die! Everything will be for nothing! So listen to , you worthless bastards!
I scread.
Crunch!
I bit my tongue, hard and clean. I opened my eyes.
Creak, creak.
I didn’t even have the luxury of checking my own condition. I wasn’t sure if I was moving or not, but I sent a signal to my cybernetics and drew Crucis.
Screeech!
I planted Crucis into the ground and pushed myself up.
“I’ll give you ti to co to your senses, out of respect for our past ties.”
Iskan spoke. I fixed my hazy vision on him.
Bzzzzzzt.
My brain started processing. I felt like I was about to die. It was like forcing a broken, burning computer to run.
‘Senior Imperial Guard Iskan. Hemillas’ confidant and friend.’
I recognized who he was. He stood there calmly.
‘Even Iskan was prepared in case Paigon failed...’
I had defied Hemillas’ orders twice now. He had given a way to survive, but I had stubbornly crawled my way back. That left him no choice but to have killed.
“Giselle, step back.”
“You’re in no condition to—”
“Shut up and listen to . Even if I die... you survive. I’m sorry for everything.”
I lightly tapped the back of my hand against Giselle’s chin. Her pupils wavered and lost focus. Supporting her, I gently laid her down.
At last, my vision and focus locked onto Iskan.
“Thanks for waiting. Now co at , Iskan.”
I raised Crucis in front of .
“You really are a man.”
Iskan let out a hearty laugh. He pulled a short staff from his waist and swung it.
Clang! Shhk!
The staff extended into a spear, and a sharp blade shot out from its tip.
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